Electric steam iron



Feb. 19, 1957 E. P. scHREYER ELECTRIC STEAM IRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5. 195s www wm wm .m s l i v o .Ik ma m Nw um.. @wrm im ww ww n WV r ld A .mi H W @www wm s ma E g @n V l! g.

Feb. 19, 1957 E. P. scHREYER 2,781,593

ELECTRIC STEAM :non

Filed May 5, 1953 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTOR EYS ELECTRIC STEAM IRON Edward P. Schreyer, Ridgefield, Conn. Application May 5, 1953, Serial No. 353,067

8 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) hot parts, without resort to tools and without the need for a separate filling funnel or other auxiliary equipment, and in which the steam dome need not be separately fabricated or blanked out apart from` the boiler and soldering, welding or' brazing operations are dispensed with for installing such steam dome upon the boiler, as is also the need for any filling opening distinct from such steam dome.

Where electric steam irons, and especially the boiler structure thereof, are of aluminum or aluminum alloy, any water, even a film of water remaining in the boiler after use is likely to cause corrosion, for which reason it is among the objects of the invention to provide an electric steam iron structure such as one of aluminum, which not only affords convenience n charging its boiler with water and doing so safely, even while the iron is hot, but which also affords facilities for readily pouringv out any remaining water after use of the iron, without the likelihood of trapping water, which more particularlyY affords convenient and secure means for safely handling the iron without strain to permit such-emptying operation, and which conveniently permits complete drying of the iron thus drained. Y f

One feature of the invention is the incorporation of the boiler filling opening in the steam dome, for which purpose the filling opening has a movable closure affording a vapor-tight seal to form a leak-tight steam dome, so that vupon opening of said closure, water may be poured through the region of boiler.

While `within the scope of a. broader vaspectof theY invention, the filling `opening of the electric steam iron could be in the form of a `filling well such asfshown in my prior Patent 2,475,572, granted July 5, 1949,' with the closure for the steam domereleasably seated at a silicone plastic gasket, it is preferred, 'more especially `where the boiler is of aluminum, so to form the boiler topthat the filling opening will serve also asa discharge'ope'ning` for vpouring out therethrough any remaining Waerafter use, thereby to guard against the danger of corrosion of such boiler due to storing it awaywith water'init.v To this end the filling opening, vaccording to one fea-` ture, instead of Vbeing a well extending downward into.v

the boiler body,k rises from the general area of the top of the boiler, preferably in the form of anupturned frustoconical wall'stamped as a unitary part of therboiler shell, the circular rim at its top serving `as theyoutletV of a funnel when the iron is inverted to permit emptying without the danger of trapping any water. vWhere the combined filling and discharge opening rises fromv the top of theA boiler, as is preferred, theyclosure` therefor thesteam dome into theY nited States Patent which with the upstanding wall, forms the steam dome, may be in the form of a cap, the side wall of which carries and encompasses a ring, preferably of silicone plastic to afford the seal.

Insulating handle or grip means may be movably and preferably hingedly mounted for raising the closure to permit filling, and means Ais provided for latching such handle to normal position after filling, in which the closure is in operative position. Resilient means carried by such handle means retains the closure against its seat, not only to render the steam dome leak-tight in use, but to permitit to vent whenever steam pressure tends to accumulate in the boiler.

This insulating grip means may be movably and preferably hingedly mounted and latched in outermost position with respect to the iron handle or grip by which the user y may hold the ironin inverted position with the filling opening lowermost for purposes of draining therethrough any water remaining in the boiler.

Preferably the handle of the ironV itself serves in addition to its primary function, the further functions of mounting the closure for the filling opening and of serving as` theA grip for holding the iron in substantially inverted positionsecurely latched with-respect to the iron body for the desired drainage. v

,In a preferred construction, the handle of the iron carries latchmeans desirably at'its forward leg for retaining the handle in normal position for ironing and contains further latch meansA at its rear leg that becomes operative when the handle is tilted backward as far .1s it will go, to latch it with respect to the iron structure so as to Vpermit the usercomfortably to hold the iron in inverted position for drainage. Arsingle finger operated member, desirably a push button near the front Vofthe iron is connected by a transmission within the handle for release of either closed latchmeans and is preferablyv spring-urged forhutomatic Aclosingmof ,theffront latch latch when the handle is tiltedback as 'far as it will gO- In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention, Y l Fig. l is a View inV longitudinal crosssection through a preferred embodiment ofthe Vpresent invention, showing the open position of the handle in vdot and `dash lines, Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on a somewhatr smaller scale, taken on'l line 2-'-2 of Fig. l, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lower handle hinge plate and the parts aflixed thereto, i l

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. v3, of the upper handle hinge plate, f l Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the latching leye near the frontofthehandle," p 'j H I Fig. 6 vis a view in'transverse cross-sectionlon a somewhat larger scale than in Fig. l, of the boiler closure unit, Fig. 7 is a perspective vie'wy'of the open iron in' positioi for drying out any water remaining inv the boiler,

Fig. 8 Aisv a detail sectional view shown on scale larger than in Fig. l. g

Referring now to the drawings; the iron comprises ya boiler B which may be of any suitable sheet metal but'fisi of Aan improvement,`

desirably of .aluminum fand comprisesa'body shell-Olii,4

which is determined by the upturned rear portion 14 of floor plate 13 which is welded to the side and top of the body shell 10. Rod 17 is controlled by a suitable knob 21 accessible fromthe rear part of the iron for adjustingA its temperature to the fabric being ironed. Y

The electric heating element 23 is preferably molded into the sole plate 16. The boiler floor may besecured to the sole plate in face to face rel-ation, therewithibyrsuitable means, desirably by Riv-nuts 24 of familiar construction, the coacting screw element 25 of each of which is accessible through. a corresponding aperture as at 26 in the bottom of the sole plate 16. Thus the heater. 23 is in heat conducting relation to both the sole plate 'and the boiler.

Rising from near the forward end of thehoiler is the steam tube 27, the lower end of which may constitute a Riv-nut. A little ring 29 of silicone plastic in a corresponding depression in the sole plate renders leak-tight the joint at the lower end of the steam tube. The upper end ofthe steam tube 27 may be pinched together at 27 above one or more apertures 27a, near the upper end of said tube.

The steam tube 27 is desirably not axially of the filling opening 31, but its upper end is near the rim of said opening at one side as shown, to afford a wide space with respect to the opposite side of the rim for adequate venting in filling. Desirably also a baille wall 38 of width little greater than that of the steam tube is welded to and extends downward slightly from the top of the boiler shell 10 to intercept any water that might otherwise splash through apertures 27a into the steam tube.

The sole plate 16 has a triangular depression 32 in its lower face that has communication with the lower end of the steam tube 27, and discharges the steam to the .fabric being ironed, by way of ports or slits 33 in closure plate 34 for the depression 32, and that closure plate is detachably secured in place as by an upstanding screw 35 threaded into and countersunk in the bottom of the closure plate 34.

A baille plate 36 extending across the entire narea of the forward half of the boiler, sloping downward slightly.

from front to rear yand through which the steam tube 27 extends, `as shown, has a bordering flange 37 soldered or brazed to the body shell. Desiuably the rear end of the baille plate 36 has an upstanding wall 82 and in front of said wall has one or more apertures 83 to drain any water lodged upon said plate when the water remaining in the boiler does not reach up to said plate. Y

Preferably the baille plate V36 is depressed slightly downward at the region aboutthe steam tube 27 to present a fiat circular marker 84, readily visible through filling opening 31 as an indication when to stop filling.

All of the welding operations, including those by which the floor plate 13, the baille plate 36, the rear wall 14 of the boiler and the baflle wall 38' are bonded to the body or boiler shell 10, are readily and expeditiously performed by oven-heat which causes the requisite flow of an inner owable lamination 10 of the sheet 'metal vstock of body shell 10.

In the embodiment shown, the boiler filling conformation is Ialso rendered effective for emptying the boiler, by simply conforming it to rise 'as a frusto-conical wall 38 from the upper part of the boiler and as an integral part of the boiler shell stamping, the upper rim 31 of Vsaid rising wall being the filling and emptying opening. I

.A heat insulated carrier, desirably a movable arm.85L serves effectively to accommodate :and removably to mount a closure unit C for the filling opening'31, and serves also as a hand-hold to remove such closure from its seat. That carrier,` which is desirably the handle proper of the iron may be molded of plastic, and comprises in addition to base or arm 85 the forward Vand rear legs L that rise therefrom and the connecting grip portion G. Y

A closure mounting sheet metal plate 39 countersunk within the lower face of the handle, is aflixed thereto as by screws 40 and affords a keyway slot 41 therein for accommodating the shank 42 of the closure unit C. r[he enlarged head 43 of the closure shank may readily be introduced through and then pushed therealong from the enlarged end of the keyway slot, and thus be retained in place by the pressure of the conically helical coil spring 44 encompassing the shank 42 and confined at its upper end within conical slidable cap piece 45, urged upward bythe spring against head 43. The handle may be hinged to the body of the iron by means of a hinge at its rear. That hinge may comprise a lower leaf 46 screwed into a corresponding depression in the upper face of the rear end of the body structure, connected by pintle pin 47 to an upper hinge leaf 48, affixed as by screws 49 to lateral lugs 5t) in the lower face of the handle. The shoulders 47 of the molded handle base keep the pintle in place.

The closure itself is desirably a sheet metal cap 51 to which the lower end of shank 42 is axially welded and it carries `a yielding ring 52, preferably of silicone plastic, lodged within its peripheral depending bead 53, resiliently to seat against the outer surface of the frusto-conical wall 38 under pressure of spring 44, when the handle is closed as shown in Fig. l. The head 43 of shank 42 is accommodated in a small depression 43' above plate 39 in the arm of the handle H.

The handle is releasably retained in closed position by means of a latch, preferably comprising a small angle bracket 54, the latching eye 5S of which is upright, its upper end 54 being preferably inclined backward so as to act as a lead or guide for the Coacting latch hook 58. The mount 56 of bracket 54 is affixed in countersunk relation to the roof of the boiler in front of the filling opening, as for instance by means of a Riv-nut 57. A latching hook 58 on the handle coacts with latching eye 55 on the boiler. Latching hook 58 is at the lower end of a lever 59 which is pivcted in an eye 69, desirably formed at the forward end of the closure mounting metal plate 39. Any suitable spring means may retain the latch hook 53 in closed position and release may be effected when desired by ysuitable means, one illustrative embodiment of which willl be more fully described hereinafter.

According to the invention, latch means is also provided at the rear of the iron body that is normally open but becomes effective to latch the handle in fixed open position and preferably such latch limits the movement of the handle to its most rearwardly tilted position. Illustratively the fixed rear latch member is an upstanding arcuate tlat bar 61 concentric with the hinge pivot 47 and having a latching notch 62 near its upper end and rive-ted in place as `at 63 between lateral or flanking plates 63 of greater width. Lateral plates 63 are desirably angle plates,l the bases 65 of which are welded as at 64 to the lower 'or body hinge leaf 46. Coacting with latching bar 61 is. a latching hook 66 at the lower end of lever 67.

Lever 67 is pivotally mounted on pin 68 bearing at itsA ends in indentations 69EL of plates 69 that rise from and are affixed at angle extensions 69 welded to the upper hinge plate 48 that mounts the handle.

When the handle is moved rearward, the rear latching hook 66 rides between the wider flanking plates 63 as a track along the arcuate edge therebetween of the latching plate`61 against which it is urged by a suitable spring to be hereinafter described, until it registers with the notch 62 into which it is automatically snapped by such spring, thereby-securely to retain the handle inv the rearwardly latched position shown in dot and dash lines on Fig. l. for convenience in holding the iron in inverted position to drain any 4remaining water from the boiler.

While in the broader aspects of the invention, the rear latch could be independent of the front latch, and while the handle or grip for holding the iron in inverted position for emptying could be independent of the handle proper of the iron and could be latched in extended position for emptying hy any suitable means, it is much to be preferred to control the operation and release of both the front latch for maintaining the handle in normal Aoperative position and the rear lat-ch for retaining the handle in rearwardly tilted position for convenience in emptying by one and the Isaure readily accessible instrumentality, desirably a finger -operated member, preferably one operated by simple thumb pressure. To this end the iron handle is desirably of hollow construction, affording at the hollow top of its main structure, facilities for accommodating a transmission therewithin that interconnects the movable front latch arm 59- and the movable rear latch arm 67. The hollow handle has a separate molded plastic cap-piece 79, to complete the hollow grip and conne the transmission. That closure piece may be removably attached to the handle body by means of screw 80 through a ledge in the rear leg of the handle and by one or more ofthe screws 440 at the front which serve for attaching plate 39.

Desir-ably the transmission within the hollow handle comprises a link '70 consisting of a flat bar pivoted at 72 at its downwardly inclined forward part 71 to the upper end of front latching lever 59 and pivoted at its rear end as at 73 to the upper end of the l-onger lever 67 of the rear latch member 67. The connecting link 70 is desirably guided between several pairs of upstanding lugs 74 molded as part of the lower half of the hollow handle grip that is an integral part of the main handle structure. A coil Ispring 75 encompassing said connecting link and interposed between one pair of said upstanding lugs 74 and :a shoulder 76 on the link urges rthat link forward to spring-urge forward the upper end of lever 59 and thus urge inwardly the forward latch 58 toward the locking position shown in 'full lines in Fig. 1. By such forward movement of link 70, the upper end of lever 67 is also movedyforward, thus to urge inward the rear latch 66 toward locking position.

When the handle is in closed position, the forward latch 5,5-58 is locked Iand tthe hook 66 of the rear latch, while urged inward as set forth, is directly below the lower end of the complementary arcuate latching bar 61.

For operational control of both latches of the iron, a pushv button 77 is preferred, which protrudes from between the main handle structure and the separate plastic cap piece 79 at the forward leg of the iron handle. While push button 77 may be connected to the link by a separate bar, it is preferably connected by a bar extension 78 unitary with link 7 0 to the pivot pin 72 that connects the connecting link '70 to the upper end of the forward latch lever 59.

The operation of the electric 'steam iron of the present invention will be readily understood.

In order to charge the boiler, the operator 4grasping the handle in normal manner merely presses the push button 77 inward with her thumb against the resistance of coil spring 75, thereby Ato pivot the lower hook end 58 of latch lever 59 outward for opening the forward latch, and she tilts the thus released handle backward Iabout its pivot 47. In that tilting actionV the hook end 66 of the rear lever 67 will ride between the ankingplates 63 along the arcuate edge of the rear latching bar y61, and pressure on the push button being released, the coil spring 75 will cause the rear latch hook 66 to. snap into' the latch notch62 of said bar 61 when'registry is reached, thereby to latch the handle into its extreme back-tilted position shown.

The filling opening 31 being now fullyexposed, water may readily be poured into the boiler. Such admission, even while the iron is hot, occurs withoutthe ejection of hot water orl steam Ithat might injure the user. For the filling opening 31 is of wide area and the upper end of the `steam tube being near one portion only of :the rim 31 affords ample admission and venting space.

-It is'of course not necessary to til-t the .handlel back to its ex-trerne latched position for lfilling, but ordinarily this would be done to guard against the handle droppingiback to kclosed position by gravity during filling.

The closure C beingmounted in slot 41 is self aligning with -the fr'u'sto-conical wall 38 and itsyielding ring 52 Ibeing of inner diameter larger Vthan that'of rim 31, the seating of the closure is accurate fand effective, without the d-arrgerwof said ring striking `the `sharp edge of the rim 31, and the 'expansion of ring 52 is limited by the bead 53 ofthe closure cap, thus assuring a tight seal during use. v

The steam generated within the boiler during use collects vin the steam dome made up ofthe rising wall 38 and the closure cap 51 thereof, from which "steam vpasses through lateralr apertures 27st lin the steam tube 27Y down to the steam chamberf32 for escape'through the steam holes 33'in the sole plate 162 Should steam pressure tend to develop within the boiler, it is manifest that it will cause the closure cap C to rise slightly for venting and for ready escape laterally beyond the front and sides of the base plate of the handle.

Upon completion of the ironing,'it is desirable to empty out any remaining water, especially where the boiler is of aluminum which is especially subject to corrosion should water remain stagnant therein for any prolonged period. While the water could be ejected by continuing the heating of the iron, tilted slightly forward, and allowing the steam to force the water out through the apertures 33, that operation is slow and somewhat hazardous.

According tothe present invention, removal of any water from the boiler is facilitated. The handle when latched in open position, asabove described, forms a convenient hand grip for holding the iron in inverted position in order to allow'the remaining water to escape through the opening 31, which escape occurs without any danger ofr trapping water as would be likely were the filling opening in the form of a depressed filling well. Thus even though the heating element be burned out and the iron dead, the water remaining inthe boiler may be readily dischargedtherefrom, which is all but impossible with familiar types of electricls'team irons.

If desired, the iron may be rested with its handle latched in open position, in butterfly fashion, as shown in Fig. 7, the sole plate resting on itsv rear'edge,` being thus tilted upward to one side and the open handle' resting onits Yupper rearV edge is tilted'pward tothe other side. Thus retained, the iron could remain'plugged in tok heat it for a short period of time and evaporate any remaining film of water preparatory to re-closing the handle as previously indicated and putting the iron away.

To return to closed position, the handle, latched in open position as described, the user merely presses the pushrbutton 77 against the resistance of spring 75, thereby releasing the rear latch by lifting the latch hook 66 out of notch 62 and the handle is then returned to closed position, when the spring 75 will expand, again to close the forward latch, resiliently to maintain closure C over the filling opening for ironing.

Immediately after pressing push button 77 to open the forward or the rear latch, as the case may be, only slight movement of the handle is effective to keep the push button depressed. For as long as latchhook 66 rides along, arcuate latch bar 61, spring 75 cannot expand until said hook reaches notch 62 ywhen thumb piece is snapped outward. Similarlyonly when` such hook 66 passes downward beyond the lower endy of' arcuate bar 61 and latching hook 58 registers with eye 55 is spring 75 released to snap the forward latch closed and urge push button 77 outward.V

Even though in the course of use, the handle H be slammed down hard to closed or latching position, no distortion or other injury to the ironor to its latch 55-'58 can result. This will be apparent from the fact that the coil spring 44 resiliently absorbs the shock of such slamming closure, and only when position of full closure has been reached does rear latching hook 66 clear the arcuate bar 61, as shown in Fig. l, to release spring 75, and only then will hook 58, now in registry with eye S, be urged by spring 75 to enter such eye.

Thus according to the invention, a rugged electric steam iron is provided with a minimum number of parts that are easily assembled, without the need vfor elaborate welding operations, and in fact that requires merely ovenwelding for affording the leak-tight boiler construction, which affords facilities for ready and safe filling, even when hot, without the need for separate filling funnels or other auxiliary equipment or tools, which inherently precludes building up of hazardous steam pressure therein, and which may readily and completely be emptied after ironing, and thus the iron becomes substantially proof against corrosion by even a tilm of moisture that might remain therein when it is stored away after use.

The steam that enters the steam chamber 32 from steam pipe 27 may become heated further by exposure to heat from the contiguous heating element 23, and thus reach excessive temperature.

The embodiment of Fig. 8 in which corresponding parts have the primed reference numerals of those of Fig. l, serves to overcome such difficulty.

Referring to Fig. 8 there is interposed between the steam chamber 32 and the bottom of the sole plate 16 thereabove a sheet 90, extending substantially the full area of the chamber 32 but turned upward at 90 at its rear end to afford a guide for directing the steam from the steam tube 27 downward under said sheet 90 and thereby interposing between the steam in said chamber and the bottom of the sole plate and intervening heat insulating air space 91 which is maintained by a series of teats 92 extending downward from the sole plate thereabove. A screw 35 through closure plate `34' through a sleeve 94, presses the sheet 90 in place against hub 93 in the sole plate. The sheet may be of metal such as aluminum of about .Ol inch thickness which affords suiiicient stiffness for the purpose, or if desired, it may be of insulating material such as a glass wool panel.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely dilerent embodiments ofthis invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the aboveV description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. An electric steam iron of the type comprising a sole plate, a boiler atiixed thereon and having a filling opening in its roof, electric heating means in heat conductive relation with both the sole plate and Vthe boiler and a steam dome at the roof ofthe boiler and extendmg over the upper end of a steam tube rising from the tioor of the boiler; the combination in which said steam dome comprises a removable spring-urged closure unit and seat therefor peripherally of said filling opening, said iron having a hinged handle, a metal mounting keyhole plate atiixed in a corresponding depression in the bottom of the handle, said plate havingan elongated slot therethrough aligned with the longitudinal axis of said handle and enlarged at one end, said closure unit havmg a shank with an enlarged head of dimensions less than that of the enlarged end of said slot and greater than the remaining portion of said slot tol be retained thereby to mount said closure unit, said handle serving for manually displacing said Vclosure to permit filling of the boiler through said opening, and a gasket ring affixed peripherally of one of the coasting elements that constitute the steam dome closure and the seat therefor, and means upon said boiler releasably to latch said closure carrier for `maintaining a leak-tight seal between the closure of said steam dome and the seat therefor.

2. The combination recited in claim l in which the upper end of the steam tube is adjacent one part and substantially spaced from the diametrically opposite part ofthe rim of the filler opening, and in which the upper extremity of said steam tube is closed and said steam tube presents one or, more lateral openings therebelow. y 3. An electric `steam iron comprising a sole plate, a boiler affixed thereon, electric heating means in heatconductive relation with both said sole plate and said boiler, said iron having a handle pivotally mounted thereon near the rear end thereof, means for relcasably retainingsaid handle in normal ironing position, said han- `dlehaving a'spring-urged closure mounted thereon for coactionV with a lling opening in the roof of said boiler, exposedr for iilling when the handle is moved away from normal position, and means under control of the handle for latching it in open position for convenience in holding the iron inverted for emptying its boiler, said means comprising a fixed rising arcuate latching bar concentric with said pivot mount and having a latching notch, said handle having a pivoted spring-urged latching hook to co'act with said latching notch in extreme open position of the handle.

4. An electric steam iron comprising a sole plate, a boiler atiixed thereon, electric heating means in heat-conductive relation with both said sole plate and said boiler, said iron having a handle pivotally mounted thereon near the rear end thereof, means for releasably retaining said handle in normal ironing position, said handle having a'spring-urged closure mounted thereon for coaction with a tilling opening in the roof of said boiler, exposed for filling when the handle is moved away for normal position, and means under control of the handle for latching it in open position for convenience in holding the iron inverted for emptying its boiler, said means comprising a ixed rising arcuate latching bar concentric with said pivot mount and having a latching notch with anking plates against opposite faces thereof protruding therebeyond, said handle having a pivoted spring-urged latching hook movable between said anking plates to ride along the arcuate edge of said latching bar and to coact with said latching notch in extreme open position of the handle.

5. An electric steam iron comprising a sole plate, a boiler affixed thereon, electric heating means in heat conductive relation with both said sole plate and said boiler, a handle pivotally mounted at its rear to the body of the iron and having a spring-urged closure mounted thereon for cooperation with a iilling opening in the roof of the boiler, means for latching the handle in closed position for normal useof the iron, and means for latching the handle in rearwardly tilted open position for convenicnce in holding the iron inverted to drain water therefrom, a single tinger-operated element on the handle for controlling the forward and the rear latch when the hadle Vis closed and in wide open position, respectively, and a transmission between said `finger-operated clement and both the forward andthe rear latch for releasing the front latch preparatory to opening the handle and for releasing the rear latch preparatory to re-closing the handle.

6. The combination recited in claim 5 in which the front-latch comprises an angle bracket rising from the boiler and presenting a latching eye, the handle is hollow and accommodates a latching lever pivoted therein with a latch hook -for coaction with said eye, in which the rear latch comprises an arcuate latch bar rising from the iron body, concentric with the pivot mountof the handle and having a latching notch therein, in which a coacting lever has a latching hook at its lower end and isvpivotally mounted in the rear leg of the handle and in which a link extending longitudinally through the hollow handle is pivotally connected to the upper ends respectively of the forward latch lever and the rear'latch lever, in which a spring urges the connecting link forwardly to pivot both forward and rear levers inwardly toward latching position, and in which a push button accessible at the front of the holdow handle is connected to the forward end of the connecting link for moving out of the path of the coacting eye and notch, the forward and rear latehing levers, respectively.

7. The combination recited in claim 5 in which the latching means includes rising latch members aiiixed near the front and rear respectively of the iron body, in which the handle is hollow and has mounted a pivoted latching lever in its front leg and a pivoted latching lever in its rear leg, in which the transmission comprises a link extending longitudinally within the hollow handle grip portion and pivoted near opposite ends to the upper parts of the respective latching levers, in which spring means coacting with the link urges both latching levers inward toward latching position, in which the rear latching lever is out of registry with the associated rising latching member when the handle is in closed position, and in which the finger-operated member is accessible through the hollow body for overcoming the pressure of the spring means and simultaneously moving both latching levers from latching position so as to release the fro-nt latch preparatory to opening the handle and by the same operation to release the rear latch preparatory to re-closing the handle.

8. The combination recited in claim 7 in which the connecting link is mounted. between upstanding guides in' the hollow handle grip portion, and in which the upper portion of the hollow handle grip portion is a separate cap piece removably affixed near its front and near its rear to the main handle body and in which the lingeroperated member is a push button which protrudes at the front of the handle from between the two parts of the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

